Please consider helping others through a gift to Share the Season

As many of us focus on gift-giving this holiday season, we encourage you to remember another way you can be a blessing to others: the annual Share the Season campaign.

Share the Season allows you to help those who face challenging circumstances and whose Christmas lists likely look far different than ours. We may want the latest iPhone, most popular video game or trendy piece of clothing. They may find it a miracle simply to have their utility bills paid.

Share the Season is a cooperative effort involving the Wichita Community Foundation, the Salvation Army and The Wichita Eagle/Kansas.com. The Community Foundation handles donations, the Salvation Army screens possible recipients and The Eagle publicizes the program and shares the stories of those in need.

Share the Season focuses on people who do not qualify for other types of aid. It’s common for recipients to get help with things such as utility and medical bills. Payments are made directly to creditors on behalf of those in need.

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The program has raised more than $3.1 million and helped 3,300 families since it began 18 years ago, according to Shelly Prichard, executive director of the Community Foundation. Last year alone, 117 families benefited from a total of $243,650 in donations.

Those who are helped by the program have often been affected by an unexpected event that drained their finances: a serious illness, a job loss or a car accident. You see their stories highlighted each day in The Eagle and on Kansas.com.

With so many families who live paycheck to paycheck, many people can envision themselves in such a crisis situation.

Still, many of us have far more than we need. Share the Season represents an easy way to give something back and to help people right here in Wichita. Please consider making your gift today. We’re confident it will be a blessing to you, as well as to someone else.

You may apply for help through Share the Season at www.sharetheseason.org or at the Salvation Army at 350 N. Market.

Send you donation to the program to the Wichita Community Foundation, 301 N. Main, Suite 100, Wichita, 67202, or through PayPal at www.sharetheseason.org.